Trade plummeted: a major Asian country cuts trade with Russia

The trade turnover between Russia and South Korea has dropped significantly. In the first half of 2024, it fell by almost a third compared to the same period in 2023. The reason is the effect of sanctions.

"The sanctions of the collective West, which the Republic of Korea has joined, have a negative impact on the dynamics and structure of Russian-South Korean trade. The tendency to reduce bilateral trade remains," Russian media complain.

In particular, it is noted that South Korea's consumption of petroleum products from the Russian Federation remains at an extremely low level, despite the fact that since December 2022 the country has stopped importing crude oil. The volume of coal imports has also significantly decreased – by 59% in January-July.

"Since the beginning of the year, the South Korean authorities have also been actively expanding export restrictions. In February, 682 items were added to the list of goods banned for import into Russia, which eventually covered almost half (about 46%) of the country's imports in money terms. The ban includes, for example, cars worth more than $50,000, metal structures, equipment for construction, and the oil and gas industry," the Russians report.

Banks in Georgia and Kazakhstan will not make transfers through the Russian payment system

At the same time, the recent US sanctions have had a significant impact on Russia's financial sector. In particular, due to the restrictions, several banks in Georgia and Kazakhstan have suspended transfers through Russia's Zolotaya Korona payment system. According to the banks themselves, the suspension of cooperation is due to "additional checks on the connection with sanctioned persons to comply with international economic sanctions."

As a reminder, on the eve of Ukraine's Independence Day, the United States imposed personal sanctions on 400 individuals and legal entities – Russian enterprises and companies from third countries (China, the UAE, and others). According to Pyshnyi, the partners included three Russian companies in this list – some of the largest providers of software and IT solutions for banks and the financial sector:

• "Diasoft is one of the developers of the Financial Messaging System of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which is subject to EU sectoral sanctions;
• "CFT, one of the largest providers of IT services for the financial sector in Russia, cooperates with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and is the developer of the Russian payment system Zolotaya Korona;
• ATOL is a payment solutions provider, a manufacturer of pos-terminals, associated with the Sigmapay service for Russians in Turkey.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, due to international sanctions, large Russian industrial enterprises will be forced to stop production in a couple of months. Even Russia's biggest ally, China, refused to save the companies from bankruptcy.

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